Man pleads not guilty to strangling girlfriend

San Diego  A man accused of punching and strangling his girlfriend earlier this week at her Bay Terraces apartment pleaded not guilty Friday to a murder charge.

Martin Anthony Huey, 22, was arrested Wednesday in Riverside County in the death of Angelica Danielle Gregory, 22.

A prosecutor said Friday that the two dated off and on for about two years, police had previously said it was four years.

San Diego Superior Court Judge David Szumowski set Huey’s bail at $1 million.

Police and paramedics called to Gregory’s apartment on Doriana Street near Alta View Drive about 3:45 p.m. Monday found Gregory unconscious and were unable to revive her.

Deputy District Attorney Ted Minahan said in court that the defendant and his girlfriend got into an argument that day, and Huey punched her twice in her face. The prosecutor said Huey then put Gregory into a “carotid restraint” — a chokehold — until she died.

He called his aunt, who came to the apartment, and she called 911.

Minahan said investigators interviewed the defendant four times over the next two days. He initially told them he found Gregory dead when he arrived at her apartment, and said another man had killed her. He later admitted to police that he hit her and put her in the restraint, the prosecutor said.

Huey’s defense lawyer, Richard Barnwell of Los Angeles, declined to comment about the case after the arraignment, saying he’d had little time to speak with his client.

Huey faces a possible sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted.